After Wikileaks: Military personnel and politicians at risk of prosecution

"If the evidence disclosed by Wikileaks' holds, coalition military personnel could face prosecution, as could politicians and other decision-makers who have condoned torture", said Bengt Sjölund, Director-General at the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT).

Brita Sydhoff, Secretary-General at the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) added: "There are strong and credible indications that the US forces and their allies knew of the risk but turned a blind eye to massive, systematic torture. And as if that weren't enough, it now turns out that not only the US but also the UK has apparently condoned ill-treatment and treatment that may amount to torture. The evidence of complete indifference to the international prohibition against torture just keeps piling up".

The documentation disclosed by Wikileaks speaks of Iraqi police burning prisoners with acid, cutting off their fingers, drilling holes in their bodies, hanging them upside down and beating the under the soles of their feet - all practices used under Saddam Hussein's regime. And on Monday British media disclosed that UK military training materials developed during the Iraq war tell interrogators to "get prisoners naked", use sensory and sleep deprivation and advice them to find an interrogation site that looks "nasty" and is "out of hearing".

"It is ironic that every single country in the coalition - including the US, the UK and Denmark - has ratified the UN Convention against Torture, which is crystal clear: It is always illegal to transfer a prisoner to a situation in which he or she is at risk of torture" says Sjölund and adds:

"We're talking about extremely serious allegations that must be investigated immediately, effectively and independently. Both for the sake of the victims, and because failure to punish those found responsible for torture will inevitably undermine the Convention and other international instruments aimed at preventing torture - to the detriment of civilians as well as military personnel in wars to come".

Sydhoff concludes: "The sad legacy of the Iraq was is that it has become synonymous with rampant torture. Now we have a chance to write a new chapter; to end the culture of impunity for torturers and those complicit in torture in Iraq and set an example for the future. To do so will take substantial political courage by decision-makers in the involved countries. I hope and believe that eventually that courage will materialise".

IRCT and RCT press release